KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health (MoH) announced yesterday that 494 new infection cases with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were registered during the previous 24 hours. MoH official spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said during his daily briefing that the caseload of contaminations with the virus reached 155,335, adding that a single COVID-19 death was also registered during the same period, putting the whole mortality count at 946. Earlier, the ministry had reported that 202 patients have recovered within the same period, raising total recoveries to 149,575.

The number of patients in intensive care units was 47 as of yesterday, Dr Sanad said, adding that the total number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals reached 4,814 as of yesterday as well. Health authorities conducted 10,340 swab tests during the same period, bringing the total number of such tests to 1,347,854 done since the local outbreak of the contagion.

Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah explained during the Cabinet's meeting on Monday the latest developments in the pandemic situation at the global and regional levels and the precautionary measures taken to prevent the entry of the new strain of the virus into the country, after it has spread to more than 30 countries in the world. He also informed the council about the health situation in the country and the ongoing steps to implement the vaccination plan against COVID 19 according to the discussed plan.

The Council of Ministers called on the public not to hesitate to receive the vaccine due to the seriousness of the health conditions after the rapid spread of the new strain, and to reach a safe return to normal life. The Council also reviewed the recommendations received from the Ministerial Committee for Coronavirus Emergencies and the Cabinet decided the following:

Allowing the recruitment of new domestic workers within the framework of the plan while adhering to the controls and requirements as of Sunday, Jan 17, 2021; requiring those coming from all countries of the world to Kuwait to bring a PCR certificate proving the negative result of COVID-19 before arriving to Kuwait within a period of no more than 72 hours from the test's date as of Sunday Jan 17, 2021; charging airline companies with the cost of conducting a PCR examination upon arrival and during the quarantine period for all arrival flights to the country as of Sunday, Jan 17, 2021. - KUNA